Copper declined as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting dimmed the prospect for more interest-rate cuts and weighed on the outlook for demand. The metal declined as much as 0.6% in London on Thursday, after rising more than 2% in the previous session. The minutes of the Fed’s January meeting released Wednesday indicated policymakers were surprisingly wary of cutting rates, with several ...
Copper declined as minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting dimmed the prospect for more interest-rate cuts and weighed on the outlook for demand. The metal declined as much as 0.6% in London on Thursday, after rising more than 2% in the previous session. The minutes of the Fed’s January meeting released Wednesday indicated policymakers were surprisingly wary of cutting rates, with several suggesting a hike may be needed. That caused a slight paring of bets on monetary loosening this year. Copper is consolidating after a two-month surge, driven by a wave of speculative buying, took it to a record high at the end of January. Economic data published since the Fed’s last meeting have pointed to accelerating growth, slowing inflation and a stabilizing job market. President Donald Trump has continued to call for lower rates. Copper declined 0.3% to $12,870.50 a ton on the London Metal Exchange as of 10:36 a.m. in Singapore. Aluminum was down 0.3%, while nickel rose 1%. Iron ore fell for a seventh session in Singapore, dipping 0.4% to $95.35 a ton. Mainland Chinese markets are still shut for Lunar New Year holidays.
FCC Chair Pushes Back On Allegations Of Censorship Over Stephen Colbert Interview Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday pushed back against allegations of censorship from CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert and a Democratic Texas Senate candidate. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Colbert could have aired his interview ...
FCC Chair Pushes Back On Allegations Of Censorship Over Stephen Colbert Interview Authored by Jack Phillips via The Epoch Times, The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Wednesday pushed back against allegations of censorship from CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert and a Democratic Texas Senate candidate. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Colbert could have aired his interview with Texas state Rep. James Talarico, a Democrat running for the U.S. Senate, if the late-night TV show he hosts complied with federal equal time rules by airing interviews with other Democrats vying for the seat. “There was no censorship here at all,” Carr told reporters. “Every single broadcaster in this country has an obligation to be responsible for the programming that they choose to air, and they’re responsible whether it complies with FCC rules or not, and it doesn’t, and those individual broadcasters are also going to have a potential liability.” Talarico has alleged in posts on his X account that the FCC and the Trump administration had tried to censor the interview and barred him from appearing on Colbert’s program, although the interview was published online. “The reason the Trump administration and their billionaire friends are trying to silence me and this movement is because they’re worried that we are going to flip Texas in November,” he said in a video, which was posted on X. Aside from Talarico’s allegations of censorship, Colbert, who is set to leave “The Late Show” in May, also criticized CBS and the Trump administration during his program. “Then I was told, in some uncertain terms, that not only could I not have him on, I could not mention me not having him on,” the “The Late Show” host said on Tuesday, adding that “because my network clearly doesn’t want us to talk about this, let’s talk about this.” The interview with Talarico was uploaded to Colbert’s YouTube channel on Tuesday evening. In statements to media outlets in response to Colbert’s claims, C...
Depop, which is owned by Etsy, has 7 million active buyers on its marketplace, nearly 90% of whom are under the age of 34 Online seller eBay has agreed to purchase secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for about $1.2bn in cash, the companies announced on Wednesday, with eBay hoping the acquisition will help it capture a younger demographic. The deal comes at a time when used clothing has ...
Depop, which is owned by Etsy, has 7 million active buyers on its marketplace, nearly 90% of whom are under the age of 34 Online seller eBay has agreed to purchase secondhand fashion marketplace Depop from Etsy for about $1.2bn in cash, the companies announced on Wednesday, with eBay hoping the acquisition will help it capture a younger demographic. The deal comes at a time when used clothing has become increasingly popular, sought out by Gen Z shoppers searching for unique items that cost less than new ones, and who want to keep older items from heading to landfill. Continue reading...
The top commander overseeing US forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire made a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday for security talks, US officials said. The trip is the first by a US military delegation since US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in an audacious raid last month and whisked him to New York to face drug-traffi...
The top commander overseeing US forces in Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire made a surprise visit to Venezuela on Wednesday for security talks, US officials said. The trip is the first by a US military delegation since US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in an audacious raid last month and whisked him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges. The visit was first reported by Reuters. Venezuela’s government said the US military...
Lighthouse Films/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Invesco Leisure and Entertainment ETF ( PEJ ) has had somewhat of a lackluster past, with total returns since inception failing to historically match the broader market as a whole. With the fund being concentrated in highly cyclical sectors, one would expect to be rewarded for an increased level of risk-taking. Additionally, given certain fund dy...
Lighthouse Films/DigitalVision via Getty Images The Invesco Leisure and Entertainment ETF ( PEJ ) has had somewhat of a lackluster past, with total returns since inception failing to historically match the broader market as a whole. With the fund being concentrated in highly cyclical sectors, one would expect to be rewarded for an increased level of risk-taking. Additionally, given certain fund dynamics [namely, a high portfolio turnover and quarterly rebalancing], PEJ does not seem well-suited for longer-term investors. My investment thesis is the following: Given what I perceive to be structural flaws (quarterly rebalancing leading to 75% portfolio turnover), in addition to historical underperformance, valuation, and thematic exposure suggest modest forward returns. For these reasons, I rate PEJ a ‘Hold.’ If we were to see evidence of durable earnings acceleration among airlines, hotels, and entertainment stocks, this could serve as a justification to reconsider my position. A narrowing of PEJ’s valuation discount relative to the S&P 500 SPY, driven by strong earnings growth, would likewise call for a more bullish stance. On the bearish side, if we were to see demand for leisure and entertainment decrease, driven by lower levels of consumer spending, this could potentially serve as a trigger to go from a Hold position to a Sell. Fund History The Invesco Leisure and Entertainment ETF has an inception dating back to June 2005, giving us more than 20 years of management and performance to consider. According to the fund’s website , its objective is the following: “[The fund] is based on the Dynamic Leisure & Entertainment Intellidex℠ Index [and] will normally invest at least 90% of its total assets in common stocks that comprise the Index. The Index is designed to provide capital appreciation by thoroughly evaluating companies based on a variety of investment merit criteria.” Furthermore, Invesco offers a vast lineup of different ETFs with the goal of providing inves...
Earnings Call Insights: Figma, Inc. (FIG) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Dylan Field described 2025 as "a massive year for Figma, and the fourth quarter was our best quarter yet." He highlighted $304 million in Q4 revenue, a 40% year-over-year growth rate, and a net dollar retention rate for customers with more than $10,000 in ARR that grew 5 percentage points quarter-over-quarter to 136%. Field stat...
Earnings Call Insights: Figma, Inc. (FIG) Q4 2025 Management View CEO Dylan Field described 2025 as "a massive year for Figma, and the fourth quarter was our best quarter yet." He highlighted $304 million in Q4 revenue, a 40% year-over-year growth rate, and a net dollar retention rate for customers with more than $10,000 in ARR that grew 5 percentage points quarter-over-quarter to 136%. Field stated, "We expanded from 4 to 8 products and launched over 200 features, including new AI-native functionality." The CEO emphasized the launch of integration with Claude Code, allowing developers to send app components directly into Figma, and noted that "weekly active users of Figma Make grew over 70% quarter-over-quarter." He explained that over 50% of paid customers spending more than $100,000 in ARR were building in Figma Make on a weekly basis, with nearly 60% of Figma Make files in 2025 created by non-designers. Field also shared that "in Q4, over 80% of Figma Make's weekly active users on full seats also used Figma Design," pointing to strong cross-platform engagement. The acquisition of Weavy (now Figma Weave) was highlighted, expanding AI-driven creative capabilities for image, video, animation, and motion generation. CFO Praveer Melwani reported, "Our total revenue in the fourth quarter was $304 million, growing 40% year-over-year and exceeding the high end of our guidance." He added, "Our Net Dollar Retention rate for paid customers spending more than $10,000 in ARR ended the quarter at 136%, an increase of five percentage points quarter-over-quarter and our highest rate over the last ten quarters." Melwani said, "Q4 Adjusted Free Cash Flow was $38 million, with an Adjusted Free Cash Flow margin of 13%. We ended the year with $1.7 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities on hand." Outlook Melwani provided guidance for the first quarter of 2026, with expected revenue in the range of $315 million to $317 million, implying 38% growth at the midpoint...
Toru Yoshimura, Senior Executive Officer at Kirin, discusses the company's business strategy and expansion plans for its health science business. He speaks with Shery Ahn and Avril Hong on Bloomberg: The Asia Trade. (Source: Bloomberg)
Toru Yoshimura, Senior Executive Officer at Kirin, discusses the company's business strategy and expansion plans for its health science business. He speaks with Shery Ahn and Avril Hong on Bloomberg: The Asia Trade. (Source: Bloomberg)
Maximusnd/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview Risk assets in general capped off a strong year with a solid fourth quarter. In contrast with recent trends, non-US equity markets led the way in 2025. The S&P 500 Index gained 2.7% for the fourth quarter and 17.9% for the year, while the MSCI EAFE Index returned a respective 4.9% and 31.2%. 1 Portfolio Review Rising Dividend Fund A Shares (without...
Maximusnd/iStock via Getty Images Market Overview Risk assets in general capped off a strong year with a solid fourth quarter. In contrast with recent trends, non-US equity markets led the way in 2025. The S&P 500 Index gained 2.7% for the fourth quarter and 17.9% for the year, while the MSCI EAFE Index returned a respective 4.9% and 31.2%. 1 Portfolio Review Rising Dividend Fund A Shares (without sales charge*) posted a return of 3.87% in fourth quarter 2025. Communications services and industrials were the leading contributors among equity sectors, while information technology, real estate and financials detracted. The Rising Dividend Fund outperformed the S&P 500 Index in the period. Leading contributors in the First Eagle Rising Dividend Fund this quarter included Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. ( SSNLF ), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Pfd Non-Voting (SSNNF), LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE ( LVMUY ), C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. ( CHRW ) and Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. ( EXPD ) Samsung Electronics is a global technology company and major manufacturer of diverse electronic components with a dominant presence in memory semiconductors. Results during the quarter reflect continued strong demand and shortage-induced pricing strength for DRAM chips and persistent demand from hyperscalers driven by AI infrastructure buildouts amid tight supply. Headquartered in Paris, LVMH is the largest luxury goods business in the world. It produces and sells wine and cognac, perfumes and cosmetics, fashion and leather goods, and watches and jewelry, while also operating some retail outlets. Its portfolio of brands includes Louis Vuitton, Tiffany, Bulgari, Christian Dior, Sephora, Moët & Chandon and Hennessy. Following a period of relatively weak demand following the February announcement of tariffs by the US, the company reported strong sales during the most recent quarter driven by improved demand from China. LVMH is committed to price discipline on existing pr...